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Henry Winter speaks to England captain Harry Kane about winning his second European Golden Shoe, his fondness for slide tackles, and the happiness he has found in Germany, which for now puts aside talk of a return home or a move to Saudi.

Harry Kane believes he is playing the best football of his career, combining the roles of both a No. 10 and a No. 9. “This is the best version of myself for sure,” said the Bayern Munich and England striker, who was presented today with the European Golden Shoe after finishing as the top scorer across Europe with 36 Bundesliga goals. “Last season speaks for itself, my best season in my career, no doubt.”

Across all competitions for Bayern, Kane scored 61 goals and provided seven assists in 51 matches. Including his England appearances, Kane scored 73 goals in 65 games.

Kane has consistently risen to the challenge posed by elite centre-backs and is relishing his work under Bayern head coach and Manchester City great Vincent Kompany. “Since the Boss has come in here (2024), he's elevated my game to another level. That's down to the style of play, the way we attack, the way we defend, the way he gives the players (like Kane) freedom to come and receive the ball sometimes deeper, and arrive in the box later.

“It's a multiple of different things. I also had a lot of these different positions during my Tottenham career as well, especially from the (Jose) Mourinho stage onwards (2019). Same sort of thing: I had freedom to come and drop, pick the ball. I had a great relationship with Heung-min Son. It’s been building.

“With the team I have around me, with the players I have, and the system that we play from the coach, it's just elevated me to another level. I feel extremely comfortable on the pitch. I know where I should be. I know where the players are going to be.

“I just use my instincts and my freedom to score the goals I score but also dictate the play sometimes in certain games. Each game poses a different test. I'm able to determine what game I need to drop, what game I need to stay high. Last season I got that balance really well.”

Kane also downplayed the prospect of going back to England in an attempt to break Alan Shearer’s Premier League scoring record of 260 goals. Kane currently has 213. He is clearly enjoying life at Bayern, where there is already discussion of a new contract for the 33-year-old. “When I first left (Spurs in 2023), for sure it was something that I thought I'd definitely be coming back. That itch isn't there as much anymore.

“I'm extremely happy here in Munich. It’s opened my eyes to a totally different world of football outside of England. It’s made me appreciate European football even more. With the team we have here, with the manager. My family are really settled here. It's just about being in the best place possible. I never say never but, for now, I'm concentrating on Bayern Munich, and we'll see what the future holds.”

Even after a season of record numbers, Kane is intent on pushing further. “That’s the aim. You know me, it's always to improve. 73 is such a big number and, for sure, going to be difficult to beat. But the team I have around me, the way I'm feeling right now mentally and physically, there's no reason why I can't push that level again.

“The goals are a consequence of loads of hard work behind the scenes, doing stuff every day when people aren't watching. It's just about improving on all those little aspects as well.”

While accepting the award, Kane said he enjoys “making a sliding tackle as much as scoring a goal”. Really? “The goal is the best feeling in terms of that moment! The celebration, the adrenaline, the way it feels when you score, especially a winning goal. No doubt!

“That's the best feeling, but I also love the different parts of my game, the different sides of the game. I love those sliding tackles or tracking back, running. When I'm watching my clips to improve my whole game, I find myself watching those moments maybe more than the goals now.

“I've always loved doing my bit for the team. I love to see the reactions of the players when I do those things. It’s a big part of my game that maybe isn't always seen because I'm judged on goals. Maybe the last couple of years people have been seeing more of that and appreciating a little bit more.”

Reflecting on the Golden Shoe, Kane described it as “an extremely proud day, my second one now”. Bayern staff were present at the ceremony, along with members of his family. “This one definitely feels a little bit more special after the season we had as a team, as well to win the trophies we won.” Bayern lifted the Bundesliga, the German Super Cup and the DFB-Pokal, but were beaten 6-5 on aggregate by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-finals.

“Looking ahead, the Champions League is a big goal of ours,” Kane continued, in remarks that are likely to quieten the recent Saudi speculation. “You're coming up against the best teams in Europe and PSG are back-to-back champions. It’s going to be really difficult.

“Arsenal reached the final. Real Madrid always. There's so many top teams that you have to beat to be European champions. I’m looking forward to that challenge again. We got extremely close to reaching the final last year. This year we need to try and do everything to go that one step further.”

Kane singled out PSG centre-backs Marquinhos and Willian Pacho as the best around. “I love playing the best because they bring out the best in me as well. Against PSG was tough match-ups – Marquinhos, Pacho, two great defenders. We had good battles. They won some duels, I won some duels. There's a reason why PSG have been so successful over the last couple of years, and they have been a big part of that. They are probably the two that stand out. A lot of the top teams have great centre-backs, and I enjoy those challenges.”

He was also quick to back his Bayern teammate Jamal Musiala, who suffered two absence seizures in pre-season matches. “Jamal is obviously going through a bit of a difficult moment right now. I know he posted on social media about the small condition that he has. From our point of view, it's just about supporting Jamal. He's a great player, extremely talented. He's a big part of our team.

“We feel really sorry for him. We feel frustrated for him when things like that happened in the last couple of games. He knows he has the full support from everyone here at FC Bayern and his friends, his family. We'll be there to help him deal with it.

“He's going through something that not everyone goes through, but also there are people who have dealt with it well before. He's doing everything possible to be his best version. He'd come off the back of a tough injury last season (broken fibula). I know how much he works behind the scenes, how much he's working on the training pitch.”

Kane’s immediate attention is on Bayern and his club teammates before England duty resumes next month. He is well used to the relentless nature of the international calendar. “We've gone pretty far in all those tournaments,” Kane said, looking back at the summer’s World Cup as well as the 2018 World Cup, Euro 2020, the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024. “I'm used to these quick turnarounds.

“In a way, sometimes it suits me. You don't lose too much rhythm, you don't lose too much fitness. You just get into the routine of going again, and that's where I'm at now. For England, it was an amazing summer in a lot of ways. Of course, a real disappointment to lose in the semi-final the way we did (to Argentina). But to win the 3rd/4th game was important, to get the feeling for everyone involved and also for the fans. And now we tackle a new year. You’re right at the bottom of the mountain again; you're getting ready for Nations League, and then that goes into European qualifiers.

“The Euros being in England, in a couple of years (2028), is obviously a big motivation. For now it's just about getting back into club football, hit the ground running, hopefully scoring some goals. And then before we know it, we'll be back in that international camp in September, a bit different this year with the two-week camp and the four games.

“We play the world champions, Spain, in the first one (at Wembley on September 26). A lot to look forward to from that point. There will be a lot of things to process that we've done in the summer, the good things, also a lot of things we can improve on, and now that's the challenge to try and get better for the Euros in a couple of years.”